Little Fairy
by Zineku
Summary: Erza joined Fairy Tail as she was suggested, but couldn't fit in. She felt foreign, observed, ignored... and lonely. Gray knows he has been misunderstanding her all along, but will he be able to let go of his ego to give her a chance?
1. I don't like her

**Hi! I'm back with my second Grayza fic! It's been soooo long, I wouldn't have guessed I would be writing another after so many years. But here I am! My love for Grayza hasn't died, and after being re-watching some old episodes of Fairy Tail I felt the need to do more for this almost dead ship :( **

**This fanfiction is somehow referenced in my previous story (Be As One), but they can be read separately. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, nor its characters.**

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**Chapter 1:** "I don't like her"

Year X776. As usual, it was a loud and exuberant day in Fairy Tail. A red haired girl had recently joined by an old friend's recommendation, Erza Scarlet was her name. Only a few weeks have passed since she stepped for the first time in the guild hall, but she already built her reputation. Her strength and serious mood were no joke, and even being only 11 years old most of her guild-mates feared her and so preferred to keep their distance. That is why she was always alone.

"Yo! Gray!"

"Cana"

The little girl approached and sat in front of the boy who was looking at some scattered papers in no specific order.

"What are you doing?" she curiously asked, noticing the mess he had all over the table.

"Just watching all these quests the old man won't let me do" Gray replied with a sigh, lying his head over the papers.

Cana took a few requests and read them aloud.

"Catching a criminal? Fighting a dragon? Stealing an item from a dark guild?... We are still too young for those quests!" said Cana amused by her friend's confidence.

"I'm strong!"

"Haha yeah of course, that's why you always lose when you fight Erza" said Cana laughing to mock Gray "Well, if you can call that a _fight_ because it's always her just kicking your ass hahaha"

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!" answered a really pissed Gray.

"Sorry sorry" she apologized trying to regain composure "Anyway, she is not here so I didn't expect to find you here either"

"Eh?" Gray didn't understand what she meant "Why?"

"Come on. You are always after her"

"I'm not!" Gray jumped from his seat visible embarrassed and tried to defend himself.

"Yes you are!" Cana enjoyed pulling his leg.

"I'm not!"

"I see. So you are good friends with Erza" a third voice appeared catching them by surprise.

The two children looked at Makarov standing beside the table smiling at them.

"Master!"

"I thought it might be harder for Erza to find her place here, but it seems you are helping her a lot" he made a pause to look at them "There are things kids can handle better than adults. Thank you for that"

Cana knew she didn't really do that much because she had barely talked to Erza, but she nodded anyway. Gray on the other hand wanted really bad to tell him wrong and assure him they were not friends. The immaturity of a young boy, whose pride and ego had been broken by a little girl who refused to accept him as her superior.

"I-…" but the moment he opened his mouth, flashbacks from their last encounter blocked his thoughts: the sunset, the river, her loneliness… her tears. He witnessed something that changed forever the way he looked at her. But because of that he didn't know what to think about Erza anymore! Were they… friends now?

Gray didn't want to keep thinking about that, he didn't want to deal with the contradictory emotions he felt.

"Forget about that, old man. Just give me a quest! I'm tired of being left behind"

"Ho ho~ Kids these days are so full of energy, it makes me jealous" Makarov knew his children very well and of course the erratic behavior of Gray didn't pass unnoticed "Gray, I have a special quest just for you" he said now in a serious tone.

"Yes! What is it?"

"I need you to deliver a message"

The young boy was a bit disappointed since he expected a bigger challenge –like fighting beasts or destroying something– But it still seemed to be important so he didn't complain.

"Ok, I'll do it! Where is it? How is it a special mission? Do you need me for my ice magic? Is it dangerous?" inquired Gray eager to do something big.

"… Why do you seem to want to be in danger?" asked Cana smiling but not quite understanding this need to probe himself so bad.

"Mmm as I said before, there are things that kids can do better than adults. And I want you to find Erza and give her my message"

"Eeeeeeeh?"

"She hasn't been here lately and I am busy dealing with the council. I'm sure you'll do it better"

"I don't want to"

"If you aspire to be a good wizard you can't decline quests like this. Now come here"

And with that said, Makarov took the boy to lecture him and explain the details of the message he was supposed to deliver.

A few hours passed. Gray left the guild as soon as the master let his guard down and wasn't willing to return until the whole _special quest_ stuff was forgotten.

'_What's wrong with the old man? If he needs to talk to Erza he can do it himself! I bet she is not here because she is actually doing a real quest. And why do people keep saying she is my friend? Even Cana is making fun of me!... Erza said she liked to be alone, so why should I be with her?… mmh I know she was lying. And if that's a lie then why is she so rude to everyone?! ___Or is it just me? _Damn! Not that I care about that. I have more important things to do than taking care of the new girl… at least I'd like to know if she's alright… but of course she is, she is Erza, she doesn't need me… I guess_'

Gray kept thinking to himself, cursing and regretting in loop, kicking rocks as he passed by and losing his shirt somewhere he didn't care. Suddenly he stopped… and opened his eyes in disbelief.

Why… was he standing by the riverbank?

Without noticing, his path had led him there… but why? He didn't want to fight her anymore. Well, not now at least. Then why did he find himself looking for her? Was it because the master asked him? Or had it become a habit?

"Aaaaaah!" he shouted defeated. Ok, he would look for Erza, otherwise it seemed that neither his mind nor his legs would allow him to focus on anything else.

Gray wouldn't admit it, but he more or less knew the places she used to visit. In an afternoon like this, if she wasn't around the river then she would probably be training in the forest… alone, of course.

He turned to look up the hill, it wasn't so far away from where he was right now. The boy took a deep breath and started his way, still not sure of what he should do after that.


	2. I don't dislike her

**Chapter 2:** "I don't dislike her"

Gray kept walking, still wondering if that was the right thing to do. Were they rivals? Were they friends? Their relationship was unclear.

After a terrible first impression he definitely didn't want her near, but as the days passed by he got used to her stern look and missed her when she wasn't around. Trying to catch up to her, had become a strong motive for him to keep learning and training. It was fun. Erza was his target: a strong girl without emotions who could easily shove him off, but didn't underestimate him like adults did… she was perfect for training! Except that he was wrong; and she did have feelings too.

When Gray stopped to think about it he felt really bad. He surely had no tact with anyone or anything, but he didn't want to become a bully either. She was the strong one! And it was just a game for him to try to get her down to reality and be _normal_ as any other kid in the guild. He didn't want to make her cry.

Reaching the top of the hill, something drew his attention. He spotted three bigger children mocking a one-eyed girl with striking red hair.

"Erza?"

Gray couldn't hear them but the ferocity in her look was palpable: they got into her wrong side. Gray stepped back instinctively, and for a second he felt sorry for those kids, surely Erza was about to kill them in that same place, right now, without compassion.

But she was not doing anything at all. Why?

The kid who seemed to be the leader didn't like the way she was looking at them. He got closer and roughly grabbed Erza's hair, shouting something about respect. But before she could think about taking out her sword to defend herself, a naked back blocked her vision.

Gray stood between Erza and the boy, releasing the grip in an instant and punching the kid's face so hard she actually saw a tooth flying out. The action happened really quickly, but a very surprised Erza felt everything in slow motion.

The semi naked boy started fighting the three kids by himself. His rivals couldn't use magic and weren't much strong either, so it didn't take too long before they left the place cursing and shouting something neither of them understood –because, you know, it's hard to speak with a recently removed tooth–.

Gray was dirty and agitated, but he was fine. He approached Erza and stared directly into her eye. She still hadn't said a word.

"Why didn't you fight back?" he asked in reprimand tone.

"What are you doing here?"

"…" Gray sighted annoyed. Knowing Erza, he didn't expect gratitude or acknowledgment from her part, but she could at least answer his question! Right? "Why were they mocking you?"

"Why didn't you use your magic?"

"…" he was starting to get exasperated "Why didn't you ask for help?!"

"Why did YOU help me?"

"BECAUSE WE ARE F-!" he realized he was about to say _friends_ just in time to stop himself.

A brief moment of silence was born between them. Erza knew for sure what he had almost said… but he didn't finish. He wasn't ready to admit it just yet. Was he sure about that? Were those his true feelings?

Still unable to understand himself, Erza's come back hit him harder than he expected.

"How are you any different from them?"

His eyes opened like plates, unable to respond. Offended to hear those words after having been just about to consider her his friend, and shocked because… she was right.

"I- I" his expression was filled with determination to prove her wrong, but the words didn't come out. Sometimes he did behave like that around Erza, but… it was different! How? He didn't know.

Erza realized she had gone too far. He surely was a pain in the ass, but ever since she joined Fairy Tail, Gray had been the only one who really tried to get closer to her. And it greatly surprised her how he gave up on the challenge last time they met at the riverbank because he knew she was feeling down.

"I'm sorry" her words were brief, but genuine "Now, what are you doing here?" she repeated her first question, but now her tone flowed casually and less demanding.

Gray could not believe his ears_ 'Did Erza apologize?... Why?'_ The picture of the almighty girl he had been building inside his head kept breaking day after day. There was no reason for her to apologize. If anything, it was him who had to do that. He knew it, but of course his ego wouldn't let him do it that easily.

"Making sure you were fine, what else" he made a pause. After realizing it could have sounded weird, visible embarrassed he quickly added "Not that I wanted to! It's… the Master! He was worried because you hadn't showed up lately and he needs to talk to you! I'm just here to take you back to the guild!" he finished pointing directly at her.

Erza was speechless, that was certainly not the kind of answer she was expecting. And out of all possible reactions, a single tear rolling through her cheek surprised them both. She wasn't sad. She wasn't angry. But after all she had been through, after months and months of loneliness, regrets and rejections, something had finally tickled a little bit of her heart, in a good way. For the first time Gray wasn't there to fight her; and –stubborn as he was– he had acceded to their Master's order to bring her back. It felt nice… to know that deep inside there was someone who cared for her.

'_What's wrong with this girl? First she apologizes, and now she's going to cry?'_ Gray couldn't figure out her mood changes, had he said something wrong? _'I don't understand women, I just don't!' _The strange feeling of something squishing inside his chest was the same as when he found her crying in the riverbank _'Specially this one!'_

"A-Anyway let's just be on our way"

The girl cleaned her cheek and nodded. Gray was turning around to go back when he noticed Erza was heading a different way.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Returning to the guild" she answered while approaching to the edge of the hill, confused by his question.

"Don't tell me… you climbed all the way up here?!"

"Isn't it the shortest way?"

Incredulous, Gray followed her and watched all the way up to the town. Abrupt edges and loose rocks filling the ground of a path clearly not meant to be transited by people made him wonder if she was pulling his leg. Surely it was the fastest way to get to the guild, but doing that was exactly why Gray could not consider her '_normal'_.

"Mmh wouldn't you prefer to take this way instead?" he suggested while showing her the path where he came from.

Erza reconsidered her options and decided to follow him, just this time.

The journey wasn't too long. If they were in a hurry, it wouldn't take them more than fifteen or twenty minutes to get to the town. However, feeling the nature of their relationship changing, and fearing that once they were back in the guild the spell would be broken, neither of them wanted to ask why their pace was so calmed and slow. And like that, minutes passed by as they kept walking in silence.

Almost half the way down, something drew Erza's attention. Gray noticed and turned to see if there was something wrong.

"Hey, what is that?" she asked pointing a few meters away from them where some wood structures in rare shapes where standing "It looks perfect for training" she added exited.

Gray couldn't hold back his laugh. At first he thought she was joking, but after realizing she looked rather offended by his reaction he tried to calm down.

"Wait, are you serious?"

Her silence was enough answer.

"It's a playground!" it didn't seem to ring a bell "… with games" still no reaction "… for children?"

Nope, nothing she could associate it with. She couldn't remember something like this from her days in the small and modest Rosemary Village. And even if it had a park, she grew up as an orphan; she had no parents who could take her out to play.

Gray noticed her countenance was getting sad and nostalgic, and he felt bad for making fun of her. Erza surely had a hurtful past she didn't want to talk about, just like him.

"Have you never seen one of those before?" he asked trying hard to show some empathy as a sign of apology for having laughed before.

She nodded, her eye fixed in the strange structures ahead. Gray noticed the grip on her skirt as she was obviously restraining the urge to go get a closer look. Erza always had an inner child willing to enjoy and have fun as any other kid, but after what happened in the Tower of Heaven she has been afraid to show that part of her that could be seen as a weakness.

Without giving it a second thought, Gray grabbed her hand and started running towards the park.

"It's ok, the wise Gray will show you everything!" he shouted carefree, encouraging her to get out from the armor she built around her heart "But to think games are for training" he remembered amused "that's so you" he couldn't hold back a small laugh.

"W-what do you mean by that?" inquired Erza, lightly pouting by the rude comment. But feeling the wind against her face, caressing her hair, and the soft rays of the sun above watching them, she quickly forgot about any problem she could have. Her face now slightly lifted to look at the sky; she closed her eye and took a deep breath, feeling grateful to be alive. _'This must be the freedom we longed for so long…'_ Erza remembered her friends and all the bittersweet memories she left behind. Tears were attempting to start falling again when she fixed her look in the small hand grabbing her own. She couldn't tell why but it made her feel better, and she tightened the grip, not wanting to let go this brief moment of happiness in her life. It was funny to see that -in the end- the cold and rude exhibitionist specialized in ice magic was the one starting to bring warmth to her heart once again.


End file.
